Feb 11 How To Take Better Photos With Your Smartphone

Today’s world revolves around images. Its what we as business owners promote with to catch a potential client's eye. Its what you use when you want to express your happiness on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. You probably have a smartphone on you the majority of your day correct? It even has a quick swipe to get to the camera app super fast when your little ones are doing something extremely cute and you have to capture it NOW!

Disclaimer:

If you are a professional photographer reading this and this topic makes you a little angry, we are a social media society. Smartphone photography is a way of life today.

If you are an amateur photographer that takes photos on your phone, gets an instagram, gets some likes and follows, please keep in mind you are not a photographer. If you want to be a photographer, please, take classes, learn about the craft as much as you can, ask questions, learn.

Keep It Simple

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Steve Jobs

Most of the time, with your phone, you are just taking a picture to take it. Because you can. Because you are trying to document something in a hurry. But if you are actually wanting to take a good photo, if you really do enjoy taking pictures on your phone...keep them simple. If there is too much going on in the image, if it's too busy…. it's not going to catch someone’s attention.

Perspective Is Key

The majority of iPhone photos are shot from the the middle of your mouth. Hold your phone up like you're going to take a picture of something in front of you. Where is the camera positioned? In front of your mouth right? OK. Don't be afraid to use other angles and don't be afraid to be creative.

Pro Tip: If you are taking photos of small children….get down on their level!

Depth Of Field

One of the most common mistakes is taking a flat photo. What it means to take a flat photo is taking a picture where everything in the frame is in the same plane, and everything is in focus. If the main subject is a person, with landscape in the background, and everything is in focus….that is a flat photo. Just focus on the subject. If you touch the screen with your finger, you can direct where you want your focus to go.

Tech Stuff

-Use the camera grid to set up your shots. The grid superimposes a series of lines on the screen of the camera app, to make it much easier to compose your shots.

This feature isn't something you switch on in the actual camera app, though. Go to Settings and scroll down to photos & camera. This holds the camera options that are kept out of the app itself in order to keep things less cluttered.

-Turn on HDR (High Dynamic Range). Its one of the easiest ways to improve image quality in your smartphone photos.

-AVOID zooming in. Here is why: Have you heard the word pixels? Pixels are tiny microscopic dots made up of millions of data. If that data gets stretched out, in process, the pixels start to show. Silly putty...remember as kids when we put silly putty on newspaper? The ink transferred to the putty, now think about how it looked when we stretched the putty out.

-Don't use the flash. The flash can be unflattering. Instead, use natural light as much as you can.

Selfies

Just some quick tips to help improve your selfies…..

Adjust your shoulder placement. If you are standing with the camera facing directly at you, turn slightly to your right or left. Slightly changing up your body position can be subtly flattering.

Stand where a soft light is hitting your face. Not completely behind you. Unless you are taking creative sun flare photos, otherwise, the shadows that are cast on your face can be not so flattering!

Did you know you can take a picture with either the up or down volume button? As well as the volume buttons on your Apple ear buds.

Stop with the duck face

To reduce double chin, and define your jawline, extend your neck forward...but not too much ...and position the camera slightly above you and look up.

Free Photo Editing Apps

Here is a list of fun photo editing apps. And this is why I told you not to zoom in when taking an image….Crop it! Which ever app you use, there should be a basic crop tool.

ProCamera 8

Hipstamatic

Oggl

Camera +

Snapseed

After Focus

Mextures

Instagram

Pictapgo

Font Candy

VSCO

Do you want to learn even more about how to take better photos with your phone? Then check out this guide from BP4U Photography Resources!